Blog Post 6

The Networked Student
The idea of a networked student has some positive and negative things about it. One positive thing is students will be technologically advanced and where they need to be when they graduate and not lost in this world of rapid change. They will also have a world of possibilities to research and explore many areas of study. There are also negative things with every positive and with the networked student one negative would be the one on one attention from a teacher.Students will always need a teacher to be there for guidance and help.Therefore, I believe that in many ways we can combine the networked student and the teacher and have a wonderful combination. Sure we can throw the books out and depend on technology but we always need that teacher there to back us if anything fails. I believe that a teachers role will always be more important than any computer. I am so excited to build my personal learning network and use it in the rest of my education and career.

A 7th graders personal learning environment (PLN)
What a wonderful introduction to the Pln from this seventh grade student. I am so convinced that she will always be organized. Before this blog I had never heard about this before. What an amazing tool to use to learn entertain and organize. This makes me want to make one now for my personal use and to use in my classroom. I love how this student mentioned that she has her work, games and even facebook on it. She stresses that it can distract you but you have to make choices to be responsible and that is with life and school and everything. So I agree that it helps students schedule there work around play. Thats still hard for me to do so you go girl! So ready for mine now! Wow

Smart Boards
I am so confused at this point about the smart board because they can be looked at from all types of views. I myself believe that the smart board can only do as much as the teacher is willing to let it do. So sure they can be boring and useless if the teacher treats it that way. Ferriter and Staton really made me doubt the smart board in many ways. After our project in class using one I hope to come to my own opinion about them. I went and researched smart boards and everything that I found was so much fun and interesting and really kept the students wanting more. I believe that teachers need to learn more about the smart board and not let one teachers judgment ruin it for all.As an upcoming teacher I hope to have the oppurtunity to use a smart board in my curriculum.

Project #7 Comments For Kids

I discovered a lot while commenting on kids from other countries. I think it’s awesome their classroom has access to blogs. Below I will tell you about each student and reveal to you our blogs and comments. So comment on ours and tell me what you think.

My first student was Rhys and lives in Cananda, His teacher is  Mrs. Lurgins.

                                             Ski Trip

skiing at asessippi was funny.It was funny because one time when i was going down the hill to this icey trail mackenzie was be side me then he feel and i was going all pro. then this other time every one was going down this icey trail and at the end every one fell and it was soooo funny.At the end though i had a very great and funny time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I  

My Comment to Rhys

I am a student at the University of South Alabama in Mobile Alabama and one of my assignments is to comment on your blog and get to know you, where you are from, what school you go to and anything that you are comfortable telling me. My name is Lara Bishop and I have children in school as well. My daughter is in 9th grade and my son is in 10th. Being a mother I know how exciting this ski trip must have been for you. I have never had the chance to wear a pair of snow skis but I did tube once and that was fantastic. I am glad to see that you had a blast and that you felt like a pro and all, well until your big fall. I wish you luck in all of your studies and I hope that learning will be as fun as the trip above for you.

I made a mistake and commented on the same student again but chose a new blog and didn’t realize this until today so my next blog is from Rhy also.

                                  Underground to Canada

In the last chapter Adam dies and Lester makes it to Canada. Adam dies because of the chains on his ankles.the chains on his ankles were tight on his ankles and made them bleed and he couldn’t walk.My favourite part in the book is the part where they hve to hide from the copes and the masters.Now heres the part where you say “what happend to Julily and liza” well I can’t tell you, you have to read the book to find out. The thing I don’t like about the book is the beggining because it’s confusing it makes now sense well to me eneny way.I give this book 4 stars because it was confusing to me but some people will give it 5 stars because they understanded it more then me. well that’s all i’m going to tell you read the book it’s good.

My name is Lara Bishop and I am assuming your name is Rhy. I have been excited about receiving a reply from my last comment. So far I haven’t received anything but I just know after this one I will hear from you. You can visit my blog or you can comment right here on your own blog. By visiting my blog you can get to know some about me. You can click here to find my blog http://bishoplaraedm310.blogspot.com/. On my blog you will see that I have 2 children myself. They are 14 and 17 and are both in high school. They both enjoy reading as I see you are a reader too. It excites me to see a child your age read. The reason I am telling you all of this is because I believe that education is the most important part of your life. Reading is a huge part of education. Reading teaches you new vocabulary as well as teaches you comprehension. I see above that you are having trouble understanding some of the book you just read. Don’t give up because with every book you read you will get better at understanding. Reading is also fun and can take you anywhere you want to go so when you read let your imagination take you anywhere you want to be. Your blog above really makes me want to get this book and read it. It seems like an awesome book. So looks like I will be finding our for myself what happened to Julily and Liza. Now don’t forget to read, read and read some more and comment back.

My last student to comment on is Rauf and is in 5^th grade at Pt. England School in Auckland N.J. 

  The Holiday

Diving into a lake I found out it was too deep for me to swim in so I quickly jumped on my board and paddled back. I was at the sand dunes.
After that I hopped out of the water, ran up a hill and then I ate.
Slowly walking back to the lake I saw a bridge that had some people bombing and flipping off. Later on I asked my Mum if I could go play on the bridge too. She said, "You can go soon", so I went and played with my brothers and sister in the water. Finally I got to run to the bridge and jump off it.
After a fun day at the sand dunes we packed up and walked to our car. I had lots of fun jumping off the bridge and diving into the water too.

Well Hello Rauf, My name is Lara Bishop and I am a student at the University of South Alabama and I am studying education. One of my assignments was to blog on your page so here I am and I am glad that I was assigned you because I love to swim to so we have something in common and jumping off of something is one of my favorites.Your day at the lake seemed really awesome but more than that your writing is awesome and you should keep that up. You can write things that you have done or even do things that you want to do and use your imagination. You can visit my blog and see that I will post a blog about your blog on my page for other students to see as well.

Timetoast Timeline Instructional Project #9b

Time Toast Project 9a

My Sentence Movie

Podcast

Blog Post 4

Don't Teach Your Kids This Stuff. Please?

This post definitely falls into the creative writing category. When I first started reading the post I thought he was putting down technology and I second guessed that idea and looked at the title and noticed the question mark. I then knew the sarcastic humor that he was using in persuading his point. I love the way he pointed out the advantages and disadvantages of the internet. We do have to think about that in all aspects of teaching and life. In this situation I believe that the advantages in this situation outweigh the bad. Sure the internet can be dangerous but it can also be very rewarding.  And as Mr. McLeod states in his last sentence, the ones without the internet will fall behind in the future. Now on to the question, Who is Mr. McLeod? He is an associate professor at Iowa State. Before we commented on a video, "Did You Know", and he is the co writer of it. I also found that he is the director of UCEA, Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education.

The iSchool Initiative  

What an  amazing video  from a high school student. I am sold on this idea of ischool. I think that the training would be time consuming for both students and teachers, but a summer workshop for all new high school students would solve that. what a great way to go green and save money and still learn. I also believe that it would save time in the classroom. Our economy is definitely in bad shape in our school systems and I think this is a great way to save money and bring technology into school. If we're not careful though we won't need teachers. Everything will be computerized and teachers will be a part of the past.

Lost Generation

Wow! That was my first reaction and as she went on I was relieved. Looking around some of the things she stated are so true in life these days. Divorce is especially at an ultimate increase. I am a firm believer that life isn't always wonderful but if you have faith and strength in God he will supply your every need and get you through this crazy life that we now have on earth and then our real journey will begin. This is all just temporary, so  while we are here lets make it count and make a difference in the world.

 'Lux Aurumque'

There are no boundaries when it comes to technology and this is a great testimony to that.  What a magical and mysterious piece of work that Eric Whitacre has put together, To know that these people have never met or practiced together is  absolutely amazing. What a talented young man Eric is and  what a  blessing to  have these talents and use them in such a magnificent piece of work for the world to enjoy.

Teaching in the 21st Century

My first reaction to this video was how long it was. It covered some very important facts though. My dream as a teacher is to incorporate fun into learning in the classroom. I love how he stressed that as a teacher you don't have to entertain. It's more important to engage the students in activities and let them learn from that. It's also interesting how he mentions things such as credit cards and life situations. These things can be taught in the classroom as well. 

Blog Post #3

                       Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

This video was true about so many different areas of life in college. Let's begin with the class size of 113. All of my classes have a different amount of students but I have had some classes that big. The classes that are that size also seem to be the toughest ones that I may have needed one on one with such as  biology and math. This causes students to not want to ask questions or either they don't have the time and you just pray that another student asks what you need to know. With classes this size teacher’s don’t know your name and many seem to not care to know your name. For instance I had a class where we took attendance with our clickers. Well for some odd reason when we got our grades my attendance was zero. The only times he had me marked in class was on quiz or test grades. My grade dropped a letter grade to a C for this. I sat on the front row and missed two classes all semester with a doctor’s note. I went to the professor and he had no clue who I was. He finally found me in the system and changed my grade. He had no clue if I was in class or not.

I can also relate to the books topic. I have bought many books and never used them which helps build your debt higher. I will definitely be in debt when I get out of college so this applies to me as well. It also annoys me to see students never come to class after paying for an education. I take advantage of every chance I get to learn more for my money. I also spend many hours studying and sometimes work on very few hours of sleep. I believe that technology can help us but not save us. Most students in class with technology aren't paying attention and are on a web page other than where they should be.

If I had to add something I would add that many adults come back to school after many years and struggle more because they have  been out of school so long and they usually have a husband, kids, a job and still have to eat, sleep, study, go to the gym and much more. College life is very demanding and you have to jump in and be strong to overcome it all.

An article, “It’s Not about the Technology,” by: Kelly W. Hines, (Keeping Kids First). Below is a list of the four things that she listed.

       1.  Teachers must be learners.

        I agree with Mrs. Hines on this because with technology comes change but with traditional teaching things don't change as much. Traditional teaching will always be about the same but you can add technology to add some excitement and fun to learning. Technology can help teaching and hurt it. It’s just all about what you believe. We all have different opinions.

      2.  Learning and teaching are not the same thing.  Everyone has a different opinion of what teaching and learning truly is. A teacher can teach all day and a student still not get it and that happens at all age levels. Even at my age I can leave a class and feel like I learned nothing. Dr. Strange calls that the burp back teaching. I believe that hands on classes such as EDM 310 assure that you learn what you are being taught.

       3.  Technology is useless without good teaching.

      Many schools have technology and no one uses it. I agree that we can't rely solely on technology but if we have it to use why not use it to add to our curriculum. Students like new and exciting things so why not add some excitement into your class. Don't just let something that expensive get no use

      4.  Be a 21st Century Teacher without the technology.

I agree with Mrs. Hines when she states that you can learn and do well academically without technology. I also disagree to a point because we have the technology so why not use it and make things interesting. I believe that if we combine the both we can form a very effective and fun way of learning!

Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

My opinion is if a teacher isn't technology literate, how will she be able to teach in the future. I firmly believe that before long everything will be computerized. We have to keep up with times and learn technology. I loved all of the quotes that Mr. Fisch used because they are all so true. You can’t be technologically illiterate and be an effective teacher. I am proud to say I am in this class so that I can learn all I can in technology.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

Wow is all I can say. I knew that technology is being used daily but not to that extent. Watching the numbers constantly changing was overwhelming to an extent. Technology is growing and changing so fast in today’s time. I pray that I can learn everything that I can about technology so that I can accurately teach my student's and use it in my classroom.

Summary Post C4T #1

                                                                      
C4T # 1 

               I read Teacher Toms blog, "More Golden Oldies". Teacher Tom is a preschool teacher and most of his blogs are about his students or his classroom. In this particular one he wrote about someone donating several used toys to his classroom. He speaks of many ways that they incorporate the toys into the class and how interested the children are to play with the toys regardless of the fact that they are used. He proves in this blog that old toys and objects can be used in a classroom setting to learn and to also bring out imagination in both the student and the child.                

I replied to this blog because after I read it I could relate in many different ways. I informed him that I to have worked in a preschool and taught K-4. His post brought back so many memories of my teaching experience and how I myself used old toys and objects in creative ways to teach students. We always visited a resource room and bought recycled goods to bring into the classroom such as lids, carpet pieces, wood blocks, paper, etc. We then had to go into the classroom and make learning tools or let the children use these things as crafts. This allowed the teacher and the student to open their minds to imagination. I am so glad that I was assigned to teacher Toms blog because it brings back so many memories and makes me remember just why I want to be a teacher.

C4T #2

Teacher Toms blog, “Loving Them to Pieces”, talked about boxes in the preschool classroom. He also uses them to make recyclable parts collages on. This blog was very short but was enough to prove that it don’t take much when working with children to awaken their imagination. The picture above is the collage he made in class.

 I replied to this blog reminding him that I too worked with preschool children and that we also used boxes in the classroom. We have painted them and made boats, houses, and anything that the children wanted to make. I loved using the boxes in my classroom and so did the children. I plan on making the collages in my class as a teacher to encourage art and recycling. Many artist use different things to create art and we never know when we will have a future artist in our classroom

Project 5

Blog Post 2

 Did You Know 3.0 by Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod

  Wow! This video shocked me a little bit. I would have never imagined that China would one day become the most English speaking country. This in itself is enough to prove that we need to step up our school systems. This video proves that technology is rapidly changing the world that we live in. Not only is the technology growing but also the population around us. This video made me reflect back to my high school years. As I sit here I can remember a huge copy machine, a squeaky projector being rolled in the front of the room and pagers. That was the extent of our technology in the nineties. Oh, don’t let me forget the Apple computer. Technology has definitely changed in the fifteen years that I have been out of school. This video really proved to me that technology in the classroom is important.

Mr. Winkle Sleeps

  This video was very creative and cute and took you straight to the point it was trying to make. Our school systems haven't advanced in technology the way that other businesses has.It seems as if the school board is behind in times and has been taking naps with Mr. Winkle. Technology in the school has come along way but there is still so much need for improvement as Mr. Winkle tells us in this video. Before this class I never really sat down and thought about how I would use technology in the classroom and now I have thought of many ways. I also have a new respect for technology and how it can stir up creativity and fun in learning.Now as a teacher I hope to use as much technology as I can get my hands on.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity 

  Every child begins at a small age using imagination. It's imagination that leads to creativity and then to learning. Creativity is a very important tool in the learning process. As teachers it is our job to look for creativity in our students and to add creativity in our structure of teaching. We can start with our class decorations. Students can learn from everything we use to decorate our classrooms. We should add creativity in our lesson plans, our recreation and in our technology that we use.

  I am a firm believer that children do suffer from ADD and ADHD and they do need medication. I also believe that these medications are a quick fix to something that may not even be present. To many doctors and parents are rushing to diagnose without exploring the creativity first. Therefore as teachers I think we should be careful to not point out these children and label them. Instead let's explore some and get to know them and see what this creativity and imagination will lead us. 

Cecelia Gault (Young Student in Finland) Interviews Sir Ken Robinson 

  This blog was so true in many ways. I believe that you have to have a great connection with parents in order to have the students performance rise. Parents have to work with the child at home and care what the child is doing at school. I believe that changing the curriculum would be an amazing step to better education. Other countries push their students to learn more and faster. Adding computers to all learning would widen the grasp of learning. There is so much to learn by computers if shown the proper way. The blog also mentioned community help. When the community supports a school  they do it in many ways. They can financially support the school which helps in more learning materials and they can stand behind the school and support them in other ways as well. In the interview he talks about creativity and stresses that everyone has creativity and I agree. We have to open the possibilities to all creativity. I know in the upcoming years our education standards will change drastically.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

Mrs. Davis is a great role model to these students and has given them so much by teaching them so much about technology. In the future technology will be a part of each and everything that we do. I want to teach technology to my students and help open up doors that could never be opened without the use of technology. I am proud to be a part of EDM 310 because I have already learned so much and so excited about learning a lot more. I want to share this wisdom with my students one day.

                    Do you think this is true... Hmm Maybe, Maybe Not! What do you think!